Islam's Reformers .pdf

Muslim to feign irreligiousness, unless there is the fear of death.As for the irreligious reformers, does ‘irreligiousness’ mean‘hypocrisy, mendacity’ so that they pretend to be Muslims whenit suits their purpose? It is not permissible to question a personwho says, “I am a Muslim,” and we have to know him as ourbrother-in-Islam; but he should not play tricks with our faith. Ifwe see him speak ill of and belittle the fundamental teachings ofour religion, it will be not only permissible but also necessary toquestion him and to call him to account. We do not force thereformers to adapt themselves to our religion or madhhab butonly want them to say frankly whether they are Muslims or notand their deeds to be in agreement with their words, for Islamhas certain and unchangeable rules and Muslims have to talk incomformity with these rules. While some people who say thatthey are Muslims do not regard it a guilt that they dissent fromIslam by holding the basic teachings of Islam of no account andmaking fun of them, they become angry when they are told thatthey have dissented from Islam. They mean that Islam shouldbe attacked and the attacker should not be told that he attacksIslam and becomes a disbeliever; it should be free to attackIslam, and those who do so should not be told anything! Theyinsult those who refute them in such terms as “retrogressive” or“fanatic”, which have been made up by communists. And aboutthose who, like themselves, attack the religion, they say“modern, enlightened.” The truth is that they themselves arefanatics. Those who pretend to be men of religion are the bigotsof religion and those who attack Islam as scientists are thebigots of science.Alteration in the basic teachings and books of Islam and toadapt them to the present time means the defilement of Islam.A Muslim is a person who believes and reveres these basicteachings and who has promised not to attempt to alter them.And ‘democracy, freedom and secularism’ do not come to mean‘not keeping one’s word or giving up one’s belief’. Islam doesnot command that the non-Muslim compatriots should be forcedto be Muslims. Is there a democracy more egalitarian than this?The bigots of science, the one group of our insidiousenemies, accepting all the customs, fashions and immoral,exploiting, crushing movements in Europe and America, try tospread them among youngsters. As for Islam, they nevermention it as if it were a guilt that should be covered, or they- 10 -